Why Not Holliday?

Unlike many PG readers, I like Ted Thompson’s overall approach to free agency and the draft.

I like sitting out the first weekend and all of its silliness. That’s especially true this year — which was a very weak free agent class. Were the Packers going to pay $100m for Albert Haynesworth? No chance. I think they would have been foolish to pay half that much. The Redskins are going to get an on-again, off-again player who is dominant when we wants to be (as he has been these past two contract years) and is mediocre when he’s unmotivated. (Think a much more talented Cletidus Hunt.)

And I don’t think the Packers would have been a significantly better team for having signed Chris Canty. (He had 3 sacks and 37 tackles playing opposite DeMarcus Ware. Maybe he’ll blossom in New York and I’ll be happy to acknowledge that I was wrong. But right now, he’s an average player at best and the Giants overpaid for him.) Thompson could have done more to express an interest and I think the complaints from Canty’s agent in that regard have some merit. But ultimately what matters is money and we weren’t going to pay him as much as the Giants did.

But I’m surprised that the Packers apparently aren’t interested in Vonnie Holiday. As Greg Bedard points out, Holliday likes Wisconsin, he’s a veteran and a he’s a leader. And he can still play. In fact, his numbers — 3.5 sacks, 29 tackles — look a lot like Chris Canty’s — and Holliday wasn’t playing opposite DeMarcus Ware.

2 Responses to “Why Not Holliday?”

when holliday signs with another team, i will have officially taken my first big step toward wanting thompson out. i’ve never really followed the nuts down that road, and i won’t continue down it if there is some mysterious plan – but holliday is a win/win with little risk and loads of potential to improve the locker room, add veteran leadership in a system NO ONE on this team is familiar with, and well — add some talent. the guy’s numbers are actually better than canty’s the last few years.

i realize i sound like one of the nuts on the jsonline boards by saying things like this, but – not signing holliday YESTERDAY is the biggest display of arrogance and incompetence rolled into one that i could imagine from a gm leading a team into a new system with little to no veteran leadership. ‘we’re not having some sort of youth movement here,’ ted recently said. no? then what reason is there not to sign vonnie? he wants to come here. makes me so pissed i could spit.

I concur with both Steve and j…poshy, although I’m not nearly as fervent as poshy. Holiday can still play, is a fan of GB, good locker room presence, knows our new system, will probably be relatively cheap (he was willing to rework his contract to stay in Miami), and best of all, the professor who likes Square Root day could once again bust out his HOLIDAY jersey!!